"Each of the 6 stores has such unique characteristics that one wonders if Walmart is using DC as an experiment to see which types of layouts work in the urban environment. By comparing the sales at the more urban stores to the more suburban ones, Walmart will gain many valuable insights.
Inevitably, Walmart will probably want to establish stores in other central cities around the country. The DC example will very likely influence the design of those future stores."

* Senate hopeful George Allen will face his GOP primary competitors Saturday afternoon in the first of three debates sponsored by the Republican state party.

But don’t try to catch the Republicans battle over their policies and ideas. The debate will not be televised and, according to the Washington Times, is being held at a time that will likely draw little attention from both the media and electorate.

The June 12 primary has drawn little attention, although the senate race itself is one of the most highly anticipated in the country.

Allen, a former governor of Virginia, is the clear GOP front-runner and, if he wins, he will face former Governor Tim Kaine in the general election.

But first in the GOP primary he will face former head of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation Jamie Radtke, Chesapeake Bishop E.W. Jackson and Delegate Robert G. Marshall of Prince William.

In preparation for the debate, Kaine’s camp released a memo highlighting George Allen’s “empty record and poor records on fiscal responsibility.”

* Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said privatizing the sale of liquor in the state wouldn’t be a priority if elected governor, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

The attorney general apparently had a meeting with a representative of the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association, and the representative left with the impression that the gubernatorial hopeful won’t campaign for privatization and won’t spend any of his political capital on it.

The Pilot reports that this comes in contrast to Gov. McDonnell, who “poured himself into a failed privatization push.”

* Politifact looks into why McDonnell publicly denied that he was running a series of ads touting Virginia’s economic successes the day before they aired.

The President’s decision to launch his re-election campaign in Virginia shows just how important Virginia is this election cycle, according to The Washington Post.

VIA Post:

“Virginia is critically important this year,’’ said Del. Jennifer L. McClellan (D-Richmond) at a news conference Thursday. “Gone are the days when Virginia was an afterthought that presidential candidates didn’t pay attention to. We are now one of the battleground states and the president recognizes that.”

* The Maryland Reporter has an interesting read on how the budget debacle in Maryland has emboldened the state’s Republican Party “to seek fiscally conservative solutions to what they see as failed policies of the Democratic monopoly.”

“Only in Maryland could they call an increase of $700 million a ‘doomsday budget,’” said Larry Hogan, an Annapolis real estate developer and former appointments secretary for Gov. Bob Ehrlich. “The average Marylander is just mad as hell about what’s going on in Maryland. … If they come back and further increase taxes, that’s the doomsday budget for the average Marylander.”